Protected
by mylifeinfiction24
Summary: Aria thought she was a part of the Blackwell family, but in actually fact she was adopted from another family. But now she is going to find out who she really is. Rated M for future sexual content
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters that the amazing Cassandra Clare created. Just the ones I created.**

 **ENJOY!**

Chapter One: The Separation

February 1990

Amatis stirred to the light, rolling in from the window adjacent to her bed, as usual, she rolled over hoping to discover Stephen there, yet he wasn't. The bed was empty. It has been this way since Lucien turned into a werewolf. She hoped it would become easier, but it wasn't. There was still a sense of shock within her. There was only one reason why Stephen was gone, it was Valentine, now that he was his new lieutenant. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she climbed out of bed, put on her bathrobe and slippers, headed downstairs, hoping to find Stephen in the kitchen, making breakfast, but he wasn't there either. She made breakfast anyway, feeling that Stephen would be home to eat.

After approximately an hour of waiting, the food had gone cold. She threw the uneaten food away angrily and went back upstairs to get ready. As she was brushing her teeth, she heard the door opening. She quickly finished, went downstairs. Stephen was standing in the living room. She walked up to him,

"Everything alright, Stephen?" she whispered, hugging him from behind. she could feel him breathing deeply, his body was extremely tense.

Moving her hands away, he swung around to face her. He had a miserable expression all over his face. Immediately, Amatis knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Stephen? Did something happen?"

He took a deep breath and uttered, "We must split up, Amatis." At that moment, she felt her heart drop into her stomach.

"What, why?" she exclaimed, moving away from him.

"Valentine feels that after what happened to Lucien, that you are unsuitable wife since you are his sister." He stopped for a moment, "I need to marry another person."

In shock, she moved a step away from him, "That's ridiculous. Repudiated my own brother for Valentine, now he wants you to marry another woman. I won't stand for it," she replied, indignantly.

Moving towards her, "I know, I feel wretched, Amatis. Valentine's not the reason, I'm doing what's right for the Circle and the future of the Clave," he stated, gripping her wrists tightly.

"What's right for the Circle," she uttered in a sarcastic tone.

"Try not to be this way, it's has to be this way."

"What way? Don't pretend that you believe what you are doing for Valentine, not for Circle. Giving up everything for him, you disowned your own parents for him, now we must separate. What more might he be able to ask of you? The only other way is for you to die for the benefit of the Circle."

"I would prefer not to hear this, Amatis, I already feel awful enough for doing this. This is going to benefit me, not him. Be that as it may, it's happening soon, he has already chosen for me."

"Who's the poor girl?"

"Celine Montclaire." Her breath quickened in shock. She couldn't believe it.

Why her? Why a young girl would elect to join the Circle and marry Stephen?

Instantly, Amatis remembered the rumours about that Montclaires, that they were extremely abusive Celine. Because it was just idle gossip, nobody did anything. Maybe if the Clave had done something to help her. What other reason why would Celine join the Circle, the promise of being loved, a life away her hateful family. This was Valentine, why would he pick her if not to benefit him in a horrendous way.

"When is this wedding supposed to happen?"

"It will be next month."

"That is quick, and you don't even know the girl."

"I know her enough to know that she's had a terrible life and she needs to have a decent one. I can give her that."

"What about me?" she shouted. Pulling her into his arms, she tried to resist, but Stephen's hold on her was ironclad.

"I'm so sorry, Amatis, you know that I will always love you, I will never love her the same way I love you. You will always be my one true love."

The tears welling up in his eyes. This was tearing him apart. How could fight him about this without making it worse? Realising it, she knew what she needed to say.

Embracing him, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I know, I'm going to miss you so much," she quietly said into his shoulder, pulling him closer.

"What are you saying?" he said, into her hair.

Pulling away from him and with tears in her eyes, replied, "I can't be in the Circle anymore, it would just be too painful for me, and probably for you, even if you don't love her like that."

"I know, baby. I completely understand," wiping away the tears on her face, then pulling her back into his arms.

Holding each other for a few minutes, enjoying their last few moments together, then the doorbell rang.

"That's Valentine," Stephen announced.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she walked into the hallway and opened the door. On the porch, there stood a man with white blonde hair, sharp facial features and a sense of self-importance.

A few minutes ago, all she could ponder was how much she wanted to hit in the face and never stop until he was dead, now that he was in front of her, she knew it wouldn't end well for Stephen.

So, she kept her composure and allowed him inside, he didn't even acknowledge her when he swept past her, he just went straight into the living room. She could hear them speaking.

"Did you tell her?" she heard Valentine say. Of course, he told me, you bastard, she thought to herself.

"Yes, I did, she's heartbroken, naturally," he said in a quiet, sad tone.

"She will be fine, Stephen, you are doing it for the Circle. She knows that. She shares our beliefs," he said, putting a hand on his arm.

Laughing to herself, she though how insincere that gesture was. Not meaning it at all. That was Valentine through and through.

Stepping into the room, she said "Not anymore, I'm leaving the Circle, Valentine," she said, triumphantly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Because of Stephen marrying Celine? How petty. You can't do that, you made a promise to the Circle."

"That promise went out the window when Lucien transformed into a werewolf because it's all your fault," she said in an accusatory tone.

"I didn't turn him into a werewolf, Do I look like a werewolf to you?" he said, harshly.

"No, I know you didn't, but you were there and you left him there. Lucien was your parabatai. Your brother. Parabatai are not meant to do that, they don't leave each other."

"I left him because there was nothing I could do to save him. Now, he's a Downworlder. A beast."

"Well, he wouldn't be a beast if you didn't leave him."

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, Amatis."

She didn't say anything much else, in the event she did, she would regret it, so she kept her mouth and headed for the kitchen, while Stephen and Valentine talked among themselves.

A few minutes later, Stephen joined her in the kitchen and said,

"Valentine thinks I should move out, you can have the house. I will move into the manor in the country. I will be back in a few days for my belongings," he said, turning to leave.

She could see Valentine by the door, waiting and watching.

"Wait, just one minute," He turned around and walked to her. She gripped his head and kissed him fiercely, his arms went around her waist as the kiss deepened. She wanted to remember this kiss, because she knew that this would be the last time she was going to see him again, she wanted to make it count. She could feel the tears stinging in her eyes. Their lips broke apart. She looked at him as they tried to catch their breath, wanting to remember every detail of his face, mainly his bright blue eyes, they reminded her of Lake Lyn, where Stephen asked her to marry her. That was the happiest moment and she wanted to hold on to it.

"Are you okay?" he said, wiping the tear that escaped onto her cheek.

"I will be. Be good to her," she said. She thought she couldn't bring herself to believe it, but she did. She needed to believe that he would be happy and that made her happy. Still sad, but happy.

"I love you, Amatis," he said, cupping her face with his hands, then kissing her on the forehead.

"I love you too, always have, always will." She closed her eyes tightly as he walked away. She didn't want to watch him leave her life.

But as soon as she heard the door close behind him, she couldn't control herself, she collapsed to the tiled floor, in fits of tears.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Realisation

Two weeks later

Amatis hadn't slept well in the last two weeks, she was just so overcome with emotion that she just couldn't stop crying to sleep every night. In the morning, she felt extremely sick and would just throw up all the time, morning, noon and night. Because of that and the divorce she hadn't left the house either.

2 days after Stephen left, she packed up all his belongings; clothes, gear, weapons and left them on the doorstep for him. But there was one moment during the past week that she couldn't forget about.

 _When an Iron Sister came to the house, but it wasn't just any Iron Sister; it was her mother, Cleophas. She had abandoned her and Luke to join them, when they were young, so Amatis was left to raise Luke. She knew why she was here, she was her to cut off her marriage rune. What kind of sick joke is this? Your mother cutting off your marriage rune. They didn't talk while she did it, Amatis didn't want to, so she just ignored her. But she could tell Cleophas wanted to talk; her touch was gentle as she cut the rune off. It was kind of nice feeling a gentle touch through something that painful, physically and emotionally._

 _After she was finished, she didn't feel anything, she just felt empty. Her marriage was over._

 _Then Cleophas spoke, "I'm sorry, Amatis."_

 _She didn't reply. She just sat there, looking in the dining room, blankly. What could she say without getting angry. Sensing that she wasn't going to say anything, Cleophas just left. She wished she said something because after she left, she just wept and wept._

Over the next few days, she started to feel ill, at first, she thought it was a side-effect from getting her rune cut off, but she couldn't be that sick. She knew something else was wrong. So, she sent Jocelyn a fire message, asking to come to the house; she need to talk to someone, desperately.

About two hours later, there was a knock on the door. She answered and let Jocelyn in. It was pouring rain outside, Jocelyn was holding an umbrella, she left it on the porch and walked inside.

"Sorry, I took so long, had to sneak out of the house, Valentine would be so angry if he knew I was here," she said, taking off her wet coat, hanging up on a peg.

Then she looked up at Amatis, her face went white in shock.

"What's wrong? You look terrible," she said, noting Amatis frail appearance, then following her into the living room.

Amatis sat down on the couch, Jocelyn sat beside her and took her hand, sympathetically.

"Is this about Stephen? I am so sorry about that, Valentine had no right to do that to the both of you," she said.

"Yes, he did. If I were him, I would do the same thing," she said, looking down at her hands.

"Don't try and justify what he did, it was wrong. Is that why you want to talk to me about?" Amatis looked up in surprise at Jocelyn, she couldn't believe what she was saying about her own husband, the man she loved since she was 16.

But she shook her hand, "No, but it does involve Stephen.

"What about Stephen?" she said, puzzled.

"I think I am having Stephen's baby," she said, finally looking Jocelyn in the eyes.

Jocelyn couldn't hide her shock. I was written across her face.

"Oh, by Angel, are you sure?"

"I don't know, I am feeling really ill. Thinking it was just getting the rune cut off, but I know it is something else entirely. I thought maybe I might be pregnant. Did you have any symptoms?"

She knew Jocelyn was pregnant, Stephen had told her just before they separated.

"I was feeling sick and tired, but that's mainly it. Were those any of your symptoms?" Amatis could sense she was lying about the severity of her symptoms, by the dark circles under her eyes.

"Yeah, but worse."

Jocelyn looked worried like something else was going on. Something she wasn't saying. It was written across her face.

"You should see a Silent Brother the, send them a fire-message, ask them to come here. Do you want me to be here when they come?"

"No that's fine. Thank you for offering", she said, giving her a hug, feeling so grateful that she was here. But something in the back of her head was worried that she would tell him. She needed to ask.

"You won't tell Valentine, will you?"

"Why would I tell him? Are you afraid?"

"A little bit, I am more worried about Stephen."

"I won't tell him, I promise."

After a few more minutes of talking, Jocelyn left. Amatis sent the fire-message to the Silent Brothers. She wasn't expecting a reply. She knew they would just turn up. So, she just went on with her day, well trying to anyway.

The next morning, there was a light tap on the door, she answered and there stood Brother Zachariah, wearing the usual parchment robes and with his head down.

Then she felt his voice in her hand, he sounded so young.

 _You called to see me, Mrs Herondale?"_

Hearing him say her married name felt like a knife to the stomach.

"I'm not Mrs Herondale anymore," she said, uneasily. She led him into the living room.

 _You and Stephen aren't married anymore?"_

"No, we aren't"

 _Why did you call on me, Ms Graymark?"_

"Pregnancy"

He looked at her in surprise, the hood nearly slipping from his head. She was astonished to see how young he looked, couldn't be more than 17, but the runes on his face made him look a little older. He still had his hair, which was jet black, which was surprising because most Silent Brothers she had met were bald.

 _Please lie back and lift your shirt._

She did, and he started to examine her. Which was him just touching her stomach. When he finished, she put her top back down and sat up.

 _You are pregnant, Ms Graymark, you are about 4 months into your pregnancy._

She couldn't believe it, she was that far along, didn't even know until now.

"How can I not know about this for 4 months?" she said, frightened. Scared that she did something to the baby.

 _It could many things, it looks like the symptoms didn't manifest themselves until after your divorce, which I am sure you have under a great deal of stress and that's what brought on the symptoms._

"Is the baby alright?" she asked.

 _She is healthy and strong._

She couldn't believe it, a girl. She put a protective hand on her stomach. For the first time in a while, she felt happy.

Without saying anything, she left Brother Zachariah out. She was still in disbelief, she was pregnant with Stephen's child and he wasn't even here with her. This should be a happy time in her life, but it wasn't, she was alone. She realised, it didn't matter that Stephen wasn't here, she had a piece of him, inside of her. That made her happy.

Suddenly, a thought popped into her head; she could never tell Stephen about the baby. She didn't want to risk his safety because she knew that he would come back, even though she wanted him, desperately, to come back. Valentine would retaliate, probably kill Stephen, herself and their daughter. She didn't want that to happen, Stephen was safer no knowing the baby didn't exist, then she thought it would be safer that nobody knew that she was pregnant at all, so it wouldn't get back to Valentine. She was going to keep this baby a secret.


End file.
